Canine Capers celebrates 10 years in business

Thursday October 18, 2012 | By:Christopher Gordon |

Mike Springer, left, is presented a plaque by Canine Capers owner Laura Lautner, in honor of the Springer’s dog, Destiny, coming to the dog daycare facility for 10 years. Destiny began coming to Canine Capers right after it opened.

It was just over a decade ago that Laura Lautner, owner of Canine Capers in Hamburg found herself taking online courses in animal behavior and passing buildings that said “For Rent” thinking this could be the place to start her business.

Eventually she did find a location at 5310 Southwestern Blvd., in Hamburg, and this past month, the business celebrated its 10th birthday by honoring its longest returning customer, a golden retriever named “Destiny.”

To the surprise of Destiny’s owners, Mike and Dawn Springer, Lautner presented gifts, including a plaque with Destiny’s name and picture on it, as she has been coming to Canine Capers almost from day one.

Mike Springer said they discovered Canine Capers shortly after a bad experience at another location, and would recommend Canine Capers to anyone.

Canine Capers offers a variety of services, and products, including toys for dogs.

“Most of the toys I sell, I test in the daycare,” Lautner said.

In the daycare, which is located in the back of the building, Lautner divides the dogs into sizes, and takes care of small and large sized pooches each and every day.

She makes sure the animals are in proper climates based off of the season.

“Air conditioning in the summer. Heated in the winter,” she said.

Each pampered pooch also has their own play areas in the back, again based off of the size of the dog.

“They have their own play area. The big dogs have the upper play area,” Lautner said.

There is also a field to run in and Lautner has the play zones filled with such items as tunnels and play cubes for the dogs to enjoy.

There are a number of reasons why people drop their dogs off at daycare and Lautner said she takes great pride in making sure the animals are happy and well taken care of. She also has an active Facebook page and puts a lot of photos on it each day so owners can keep up with what is taking place that day.

There are also a number of themed days, including “Barksgiving.”

Lautner said she has never really reached a maximum on the number of dogs she can handle and that there is room for anyone interested in bringing their dog to Canine Capers.

She said there is a screening process that takes place, including play style so she can determine the level of the dogs socialization skills.

It is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday to accommodate people’s needs.

Lautner said her dream began during a major purchase.

“I bought a house specifically to buy a dog,” she said.

When September came around, Lautner found it hard to leave her dog each day and go to work.

She took him to a dog daycare for a year-and-a-half before finally deciding to open her own facility.

“I fell in love with the concept,” she said.

Besides the daycare aspect, they also offer a grooming service.

“We have a lot of spa packages,” Lautner said.

It includes teeth cleaning for all breeds and sizes of dogs, and they specialize in a puppy’s first grooming.